It is important in today's society to provide a clean and safe source of energy in the form of electrical power. Additionally, an increasing number of third world countries are developing industries in areas where a traditional power grid is inaccessible or impractical. Current power systems include nuclear, coal fired or wind powered plants. In more remote or sunny areas, solar power is used to provide a local source of electrical energy alternatively to or remote from power grids.
Nuclear power plants are very large scale operations that produce toxic materials, are very costly to construct, operate and maintain and are generally unsuitable for remote areas. This is especially true where there is no source of fluids to cool the facility. Coal fired power plants may be smaller but also are a source of toxic materials and produce by products such as mercury. They require a relatively close source of coal to be cost efficient. Both systems require a constant input of fuel to operate.
Wind turbines are controversial in that they require a large number of individual machines to be practical and they dominate and obscure the landscape and its vistas. In addition, they obviously only work best in areas of a steady and sufficient wind flow and are unreliable at best in areas of varying wind conditions.
Finally, solar panels suffer similar limitations as they are unsightly when used on a large scale and require a steady and strong solar presence to produce power. Obviously, they only operate during daylight hours limiting their usefulness to developing countries.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a system and method for producing energy with a minimal input of resources. There is also a need for a system and method of producing energy in remote locations using locally available materials.